


A Living Legacy

by RaeDMagdon, Revans_Mask



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Feels, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 07:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7835389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeDMagdon/pseuds/RaeDMagdon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revans_Mask/pseuds/Revans_Mask
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A year after Kuvira's attack on Republic City, Asami is scheduled to address the shareholders of Future Industry on the state of the company. The anniversary of her father's death is making it a tough task, but fortunately, someone special is there to help lighten the load.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Living Legacy

Asami set down her pen, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose. A headache was building behind her eyes, and despite the steaming mug of fresh tea sitting by her elbow, she hadn't been able to shake it. _It's probably because I haven't eaten much today. Or because I didn't sleep much last night. Or both._

The past few days had been a whirlwind of business meetings, rescheduled appointments, and harried phone calls. In less than two days, Future Industries would be holding their annual Shareholders' Banquet, and as the CEO, she was responsible for overseeing the preparations.

 _Including giving this darn speech._ She picked up her pen once again, tapping the soft tip against the blank sheet of paper in front of her. _Two hours of this, and I've still got nothing._ It didn't help that this was her father's pen, one of many things he had left behind in his—now her—office.

Sometimes, she wondered if she looked like him, sitting at his desk in his chair and using his things. A few years ago, she had almost gotten rid of all the old office furniture in a fit of anger. Now, she was glad she hadn't. _Some mornings, I come in here after breakfast and still expect to see him here, just like always, nose to the grindstone..._

Her eyes started to sting, and she blinked furiously before the tears could really form there. Asami didn't have time for sentimentality. She had work to do, and a speech to write, because Spirits knew she wouldn't have time tomorrow. Not with all the last-minute complications she would inevitably have to take care of.

After another thirty seconds of fighting with the blank page, she sighed and reached for her tea. _The timing couldn't be worse,_ she thought as she held her nose over the rim of the cup, but even the earthy, wooden scent of ginseng couldn't calm her. _The anniversary of his death is in a few more days. Right after the banquet. I'm not in the right frame of mind for this._

It had been one year. Some days, it felt like less. Others, it felt like an eon.

But the shareholders, and even the city itself, expected a speech. A speech all about how great Future Industries was. How it had helped rebuild Republic City after Kuvira's invasion. How it had overcome adversity and helped uplift not just the citizens of Republic City, but of the Earth Kingdom, and the entire world. Right now, she didn't feel uplifted. She just felt depressed. Depressed, and very lonely.

"Asami?"

She looked up in surprise, setting down the mug. The door to her study was open only a crack, but she could hear the gentle rap of knuckles against the frame. A soft smile spread across her face, weak but sincere. She would have known who was lurking outside even if they hadn't spoken.

"Korra. Come in, sweetheart."

The door opened the rest of the way, and Korra entered, wearing a worried look and holding a steaming mug in one of her hands as well. "You didn't come to bed, so I thought I'd see how you were doing. I brought tea..." Her eyes landed on the cup that already sat on the desk, and she sighed. "Or, I guess I'll be drinking tea with you instead."

"It's still sweet of you," Asami said. "You take good care of me."

And it was true. Most people didn't think of Korra as 'nurturing'—terms like 'hotheaded' and 'stubborn' were more often thrown around, although some of those edges had dulled in recent years. But she was also caring, and Asami was grateful for it. It was a side of Korra that not many people got to see, and she considered it a privilege.

“I don’t feel like I’ve been doing a very good job of it.” Korra set the tea down on the desk, freeing up her hand to cup the back of Asami’s head. “You’ve been so stressed out lately.”

Asami tried her best to relax into the touch as gentle fingers threaded through her hair. “It’s not your fault.” She leaned over so that she could press a kiss against Korra’s palm, and her girlfriend pulled back, though not before stroking her face affectionately. “I’m just worried about this shareholders’ meeting that’s coming up.”

“You must’ve done these before.”

“I have. And don’t worry; I’ll get through this one too.” She didn’t want to bother Korra with her problems any more than was necessary. Her girlfriend was the Avatar, in charge of bringing balance to the world. The last thing Korra needed was to hear how hard it was for Asami to write a stupid speech.

Korra circled behind the desk, and her hands reestablished contact, this time with Asami’s shoulders. Those strong fingers began to dig into her tense muscles, and in spite of her worries, Asami couldn’t help but groan at the pleasant pressure. “I know you will,” Korra told her. She bent down to kiss the top of Asami’s head. “But I still want to make it easier for you. Please, tell me what I can do.”

“You can keep that up.” Dating someone who not only had a powerful grip but had also studied all about pressure points was a definite plus, and as Korra’s hands kept kneading their way along her shoulder blades, it was hard for Asami to feel quite so tense.

“I’m happy to. But if you need anything else, you know I’m here for you.”

Asami nodded. Korra was so sweet to her, so devoted in her affections, and simply her presence was enough to relax Asami, at least somewhat. “Maybe just talk to me,” she offered. “I hardly got a chance to catch up with you after your last trip.”

Korra laughed. “Well, when I got back, you didn’t really seem to be in the mood to _talk_.”

“Are you complaining about my enthusiasm?” she teased. Even though Asami wasn’t turned on at the moment, a little flirting was still nice. She’d much rather think about the way she’d jumped Korra’s bones the moment her girlfriend got back to her house then think about some of the other memories that had been floating around her head lately.

“Definitely not,” Korra agreed. “That was a great night.” For a moment, she stopped her massage, and Asami sighed happily as she felt Korra’s arms pull tighter around her, accompanied by a kiss to her cheek.

“I’m glad to hear that. So, your trip…”

“Yeah, it was pretty crazy. It turned out that these bandits were actually some sort of cult. They thought their leader was Fire Lord Ozai, come back from the dead to conquer the world. Or something like that, anyway. They weren’t super interested in talking to me about the details. Mostly, it was a lot of ‘the Avatar must die,’ and then them throwing fire at my head.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re all right.”

She must have sounded worried, because Korra immediately reassured her, “I am. Really, it wasn’t that big a deal. I guess the fake Ozai put up a pretty good fight, but after I airbent him out of a window and dangled him there for a while, he admitted it was all a scam so he could get rich. After that, everybody else pretty much gave up. Compared to taking down a twenty story tall mecha and a giant Earth Empire army, it was a walk in the park.”

Asami laughed softly, but despite her best efforts, the sound was tinged with pain. She had to close her eyes for a moment and press her lips together to suppress it, but the cracks kept spreading. She wished Korra hadn't brought up their battle with Kuvira, a day that was still all too fresh in her mind. They'd almost died, and her father... her father actually had. The fact that his sacrifice had been noble was only a slight comfort.

"Hey," Korra murmured, giving her shoulders one last squeeze and then letting her hands go limp. Asami sighed, sagging over, and Korra apparently took that as a cue to dip down and press a reassuring kiss to the crook of her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Asami asked in a shaking whisper. "You didn't do anything."

"I'm sorry you're sad. Do you... would it help to talk about it? If you don't want to, I'll leave it be—"

"No." She didn't want to talk about it, but perhaps part of her needed to. Her mind had latched onto that fateful moment, the last scream she'd heard on the radio, the last glimpse she'd caught of the smoldering wreckage from her parachute before floating to the ground and finding...

"It's just hard. My father should be the one doing this. It wasn't so bad, being the CEO while he was in prison. Not exactly easy, but I got used to it. But now that he's gone..." Asami sighed, rubbing angrily at a few stray tears she hadn't meant to let fall. "I have to give a speech about hope. About how great this company is. About how we can overcome anything if we try. But I'm not feeling very hopeful, or very great. Maybe if things had been different, if I'd worked harder, he’d be..."

"Don't even say that," Korra interjected, her voice deadly serious. "I don't know much about engineering, but I do know you did _everything_ you could that day. We won. Republic City would be a smoking pile of rubble under Kuvira's boot if it wasn't for you. I know Hiroshi would have been—no, I know he was proud."

Asami didn't answer for a long moment. Her lips trembled, but the words remained stuck behind the stinging lump in her throat. "Sometimes, I wonder if he saw the hole he made. I wonder if he knew we won because of him, before he was… gone."

"I don't know if he saw the hole, but I know he believed we'd win." Korra slid both arms around her despite the chair between them, and Asami felt her lover's chin tuck over her head. "You believed that we could do it, and he trusted your judgement."

The statement hurt, but it was a good kind of pain for once. Asami knew that Korra was right. Her father had believed in her, and she was grateful that he'd gotten the chance to tell her so. If she hadn't made the decision to open the lines of communication again, they might all be dead, and she never would have heard her father tell her how proud he was.

“Thank you, Korra…”

“I never had any doubts either,” Korra murmured into her ear, sweeping her hair back to press a kiss to her temple. “Not about your engineering skills or your ability to run Future Industries.”

Asami laughed, blinking back tears. “You have to say that. You’re my girlfriend.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Now...” Korra gave her shoulders a squeeze, urging her out of the chair. “I think there’s a hot bath with your name on it, and if you’re really good, I’ll rub the rest of your back in bed. The speech can wait until tomorrow.”

Although she hated going to bed without finishing, Asami nodded. “You’re right. That bath sounds wonderful. And the massage too.”

* * *

“And once the sale of satomobiles to the Fire Nation police force is complete in the second quarter of next year, that division will be back to profitability, which will enable us to open a second factory here in Republic City. We’re still weighing several competing sites, but costs are estimated to be well within acceptable levels. If you want fuller details, they can be found on page 36 of your briefing books.”

Asami paused for a moment, and there was a brief rustling of pages as a few of the assembled shareholders bothered to do just that. After giving them a decent interval to look at the figures, and to collect her own thoughts, she resumed. This was the hard part, the section of the speech that she had struggled over until the last possible minute. She didn’t want to discuss her grief with people she barely knew, but when she saw Korra staring at her from the front row, she remembered that the shareholders weren’t the only ones listening. Her girlfriend’s blue eyes were filled with such love, and such faith, that she had no trouble continuing.

“That concludes our review of the state Future Industries’ current business operations, but before I adjourn this meeting, I wanted to say a few words about a subject that I’m sure has been on all of our minds. These last few years have been among the most difficult in our history. Republic City has suffered numerous tragedies, and some of them have hit especially close to home, for me, and I’m sure for many of you here in this room.”

“My father, Hiroshi Sato, was a complicated man. He did great things, and yes, he made some terrible mistakes, but no one can deny what he meant to Future Industries. It was his vision that made this company into what it became, his genius that made it a name synonymous with innovation and quality. I know that it’s been a few years since he was the one addressing you at one of these meetings, but even when he was no longer the CEO of Future Industries, his presence could still be felt inside its walls.”

 _Especially since some of you thought he was still secretly heading the company from inside his prison cell,_ she added silently. It wasn’t the truth, but it had probably helped to keep the board from giving her too much trouble during those first few years, when there had been real doubts that someone so young could run a company of this size.

“Now, he’s gone for good, and we grieve. As his family, as people who worked with him for many years, we know that he will never be replaced, but we can still take inspiration from his life, from the best of Hiroshi Sato. His brilliance, his dedication to his beliefs, his willingness to learn from his mistakes; these are qualities that will serve Future Industries well. We have come a long way since the Earth Empire’s attack on this city, but there is still much to be done. I know that together, we will reach even greater heights in the years ahead if we never forget where we came from and what we have been through together. Thank you all for coming, and good night.”

A wave of applause washed over her, and Asami allowed herself to relax at last, letting her shoulders slump and resting her hands against the podium for support. She felt exhausted and exhilarated all at once, happy to have gotten through the speech, even if it had left her emotional reserves drained. And then, she caught a glimpse of something that made her smile: Korra, clapping harder than anyone else.

_She thinks I did a good job. She’s proud of me._

Somehow, that meant more to Asami than all of the shareholders’ opinions combined, even though Korra was only here for moral support. Without waiting for the applause to end, she left the podium and exited the stage, catching a glimpse of Korra rising from her chair as well. The thought of her lover coming to meet her backstage and offering a hug was all the motivation Asami needed. She walked faster, until she was concealed behind the curtains and could breathe an audible sigh of relief.

As she had hoped, Korra met her there a few moments later. “You were great,” she said, opening her arms for an embrace.

Asami hugged her tightly, blinking back tears. “I’m just glad it’s over…”

“I know. But you did it, just like I knew you would. Just like you always do.”

“Thank you...” Something was tugging at the back of Asami’s brain, an unpleasant feeling she couldn’t quite put into words. But Korra, who was much more perceptive and empathetic than most people gave her credit for, got to the same conclusion before it could solidify in Asami’s mind.

“You know, even if you hadn’t added that bit about your dad, or if you hadn’t given the speech at all… I would have still been proud of you. You keep doing greater and greater things, but that’s not why I love you.” Korra smiled at her, tilting up to press a kiss on the tip of her nose, and Asami laughed softly at the ticklish sensation. “I love you because you always try, even when it’s hard. You’re so brave, and so hard-working. The fact that you almost always succeed is just a bonus.”

“Being called brave by the Avatar,” Asami murmured, shaking her head. “That’s something.”

 _“You’re_ something,” Korra insisted. “But I have to admit, you look pretty tired. Are you sure you want to schmooze with all the shareholders after that speech? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go home...”

Asami could feel weariness creeping into her bones, but she shook her head. “No schmoozing, but I’m not ready to go home yet. I want to make a stop first…”

* * *

The stars were out by the time Asami arrived at their destination and exited the satomobile. A gentle breeze was blowing too, and she was grateful for her suit jacket. It was only the beginning of fall, but it was already chilly enough for her to need an extra layer. Korra wrapped an arm around her shoulder, offering both warmth and comfort, and though Asami didn’t say anything, she was grateful. Once again, Korra had read her perfectly.

She made her way past the main gate, following the small stone path that wound through the cemetery. It started out straight, dividing the field in half, but then it started to curve toward a grove of ume trees. Most of the fruit had already fallen, but there were still a few late plums clinging to the branches. Beneath the trees was a line of headstones, about waist height. They were all different shapes, but the one she was looking for was among the nicest: a simple tower, four squares stacked on top of each other to form a pyramid.

Set into the stone beneath was an inscription, gold letters carved onto a black plaque:

_Hiroshi Sato (124-174 AG)_

At one point, Asami had considered erecting a statue in his honor, but she had decided against it. That would have been more for her sake than his, and some would have seen it as an attempt to clear the name of a criminal rather than a grieving daughter’s desire for closure. This design was better. Simple and elegant without being ostentatious.

_He did always admire things that were well-designed and did their job…_

“Hello, dad.”

It had been strange the first time she’d talked to Hiroshi like this, but after a year of visits to the cemetery, it almost felt normal.

“It was the annual shareholders meeting today at Future Industries, and it made me think about the first one you took me to. I was ten at the time, and there I was, sitting in the front row, listening to you give your speech. You’d just developed a new airship model, and even though I didn’t understand all the technical details yet, I could see how you had them eating out of the palm of your hand. I was so impressed, so proud that I was your daughter.”

“Over time, I figured out the other parts too. All those business meetings you took me to, all those hours we spent together in your workshop… I learned so much from you, about engineering, about business, about life.”

“And then I found out that you were working with the Equalists, and I was furious. You went to jail, and I was left to run Future Industries without you. At the time, I hated you; for helping those terrorists, and for taking away the father I thought I knew. But you deserve a lot of the credit for the fact that I was able to step into your shoes. I wish that I could tell you that in person.”

“He knew.” She felt Korra’s hand on her shoulder, her touch reassuring. “He saw the way you ran the company when he was in jail. The way that you got it through the horrible publicity his actions caused, through Varrick’s attempt to destroy it. He saw all of that, and that’s why I know that he wouldn’t be surprised at all by what a great job you did today.”

Asami turned around, brushing her hand over Korra’s cheek. Her girlfriend smiled that smile that could light up a stadium, and Asami’s heart rose at seeing it there and knowing it was all for her. She leaned in closer, meeting Korra’s lips for a long, soft kiss and when it ended, she said, “Thank you for that. For everything, really. You’re so good to me.”

“Hey, that’s what I’m here for. Anything you need.”

Korra offered her hand and Asami was happy to take it, squeezing down as the two of them walked away from the grave site and back toward the rest of the world. The past would always be a part of them; the things they had endured together, the things they had lost. But the future still stretched out in front of her, bright and promising, and with Korra at her side, Asami was confident she could handle whatever it threw at her.

**Author's Note:**

> It's shocking! Rae and Revan's Mask have written a story without smut?! Still, we hope you liked the feels, and we welcome your feedback.


End file.
